Men. Dating. Sex. Relationships. Love.

It’s Kind of a Big Deal

Two out of three men think their penis is too small. This is a serious number of men who are potentially unhappy with what’s hanging between their legs. Why is penis size so important to men? Why do men tend to take an under-endowed view of themselves? What are we using as a benchmark?

As boys, seeing our father’s penis for the first time leaves an impression on us. It’s noted that his is significantly large and perhaps, one day, mine will be too.

We also compare our penises, particularly during our teenage years, to those of our peers. It may be in the change rooms after a football match, where they’re flopping and bouncing in and between the showers. Quite unfairly, we judge our own from above – a tainted perspective. The penis looks bigger from the front. This foreshortening is an error of judgement.

There are discrepancies in the length of flaccid penises. Generally, you’re either a shower or a grower. Most men are growers. A fully erect penis can be up to double its flaccid length. Some men are showers, usually the porn stars of the world. They may look huge in a flaccid state but don’t grow much when erect. Either way, on average, there isn’t much difference.

Us blokes don’t usually talk much about the length of our penises. And if we do, it’s a joke about how fucking big it is. We’re not basing our assumptions on whether we’re well-endowed or not on very much at all.

Alfred Kinsey, researcher and author of Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male, published in 1948, concluded that the average erect penis was 6.2 inches (15.7 cm). He went on to state that most individuals were in the 4.8 to 8.5-inch (12.2 to 21.6 cm) range. That was then. Are penises bigger now?

Some 30 years later, the Kinsey Institute published data upon review of their founder’s work, which showed that one man in a hundred reaches beyond the 5 to 7-inch (12.7 to 17.8 cm) erectile median range to 8 (20.3 cm), and only seven men in a thousand go beyond 8. What does that mean? Well, for a start, most of us are embellishing if we tell people we’re packing any more than an 8-inch weapon.

Seriously, the world’s largest condom manufacturer, Durex, report 6.4 inches (16.3 cm) as average in their research. Lifestyle quote 5.8 inches (14.7 cm). It’s safe to say that the average erect penis is between 5-7 inches.

But, why are we obsessed by it?

There’s not much we can do about it and as long as it’s functioning for us, why do we care how big it is?

We’re told that girth is far more important in providing pleasure during sexual intercourse. However, recent research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has shown that penis size is as important as height to women.

This observation has generated suggestions that human penis size partly evolved because of female choice. Here we show, based upon female assessment of digitally projected life-size, computer-generated images, that penis size interacts with body shape and height to determine male sexual attractiveness.

And we’re told that men are the ones objectifying women?

I can see why short men would be paranoid right about now.

It seems like an awfully shallow way of choosing a mate. Awesome guy, small penis. Next. By the same standard, would it be acceptable for a man to discard a woman purely on the basis of her bust size?

The fact is, it’s only a big deal to men because we’re insecure about it. We’re insecure because someone or something is making us so. Men are visual, confidence players who need not worry about what can’t be changed.